[78-L] Big Band Era

[Donna Halper]

On 6/27/2020 10:55 AM, RODMANLEWIS . wrote:
>   I think the use of the term "Big Band" Era was a case of being wise after
> the event. The 30s is now also known as the "Swing Era", but it was as much
> the "Mickey Mouse" (aka "Sweet", "Hotel" or "Society") Era.


As I mentioned in an earlier reply, it's often media critics and 
historians later on who come up with these names as a retrospective on 
the era, even though nobody called it by that name at the time. Big Band 
is one example (although the term was being used in the late 1800s to 
refer to large orchestras that played concerts at circuses and fairs).  
Another good example is "doo-wop," referring to the lyrics and the 
harmonies found in certain 1950s rhythm & blues music. I grew up in the 
50s, and I don't recall ever hearing anyone call it that.  Yet today, 
"doo-wop" a common term for that music.

-- 
Donna L. Halper, PhD
Associate Professor of Communication & Media Studies
Lesley University, Cambridge MA